


Holidays

by Joking611



Series: Cari'ssi'mi Drabbles [6]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Holidays, Janiris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-20 18:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11926710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joking611/pseuds/Joking611
Summary: It's that time of year... at least it is on Thessia





	Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge Yourself: A Month Of Fanfiction 2017
> 
> Monday 8/21's Prompt: A Holiday Celebration

Garrus looked over as the elevator opened onto the cargo bay, his preemptive work on the Normandy’s shiny new Mako interrupted by the sound.

Shepard stepped out, haltingly, hesitantly. This was nothing  at all like her typically authoritative entrance, the  self-assured commander striding into the cargo bay as if she owned the place. Well, that was close enough to the truth, at any rate.

She looked left and right, as if placing the occupants of the bay in her mind. A brief nod to the supply officer, and another to Wrex, eliciting a nod and grunt in return. Her gaze lingered perhaps a bit too long on the empty armory station. Kaidan had been assigning marines in rotation through armorer duty, but no one had been permanently assigned to the post vacated by Chief Williams.

After a moment Shepard’s pace increased, her destination obvious. Garrus sighed as he slid out from under the Mako, not looking forward to the effort it would take to put himself back in that position once Shepard had gone.

He’d just managed to extricate himself from the cramped quarters when Shepard squatted down beside him.

“Busy?”

If Garrus could have rolled his eyes in an obvious manner, he would have. Sure he was busy. It wasn’t in his nature, in a turian’s nature, to sit idle. How Wrex could sit across the bay and watch him work all day was beyond him.

On the other hand, he could freely admit what he was doing could be classified as busywork. It was almost impossible to coax extra performance from a vehicle that had never seen use. Until Shepard took it out in the field, Garrus had no idea how this new machine would respond to the spectre’s abuse. For now, he was happy to enjoy a vehicle that wasn’t held together by omni-gel and parts manufactured in the field.

“Nothing pressing. What can I do for you, Shepard?”

The human sat back on her knees. “If you’re busy…”

Oh. It was going to be one of _those_ conversations.

“It’s fine. It was either this or be bored. I can’t just polish my armor all day like some people.”

They were both treated to a deep chuckle from across the bay.

“You know what Janiris is, right?”

“Of course I do, Shepard. I was in C-Sec. Nothing like the holiday season to give everyone a justification to cut loose.” He shook his head. “Not just the asari, either. We had just as many non-asari in for drunk and disorderly.” He shrugged at the look Shepard gave him. “Everyone looks for a reason to party.  Since there are more asari than anyone else on the Citadel, all the other species celebrate their own holidays, and theirs.” He interrupted when Shepard started to take a breath. “And yes, I know it starts this week. You planning on throwing a party for Liara?”

“Well fuck,” Shepard murmured under her breath before continuing. “This conversation was almost pointlessly easy.”

Garrus chuckled. “If you’d asked me about a human holiday it would have probably been harder. No one cares about those.”

“Yeah, me either,” Shepard confirmed. “Anyway, an extranet search on Janiris was no help at all. I’ve found everything from formal feasts to drunken revelry. I even called the house back on Thessia, but Denai was no help. All she said was that we needed to “honor the goddess” or some shit.”

Garrus nodded in agreement. “House T’Soni? Sure. They’re probably pretty formal about the whole thing, with different rituals to celebrate each of the sixteen days of the festival.” He paused as Shepard’s eyes got wide. “Spirits, Shepard. We’re on a mission. Just throw her a damn party, get her a gift, and you’ll be fine. Is that what you needed to hear?”

“Maybe. I never know what’s enough. I see her as the scientist we rescued on Therum, and then every time we go to Thessia I’m reminded that she could buy Arcturus if she wanted to. It’s hard to impress a girl like that, you know?”

Garrus wrapped his talon’s around Shepard’s upper arm, gently as earlier mistakes had taught him. “You’ve already impressed her, Shepard. She’d be happy with a bottle of ryncol and field rations.”

“Maybe,” Shepard grinned, “But _I_ wouldn’t be.”

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

Everything was going well. Sergeant Crosby had outdone himself with the Normandy’s mess, delivering a celebratory feast that was seemed half Thanksgiving, half barbecue.

The crew had gotten into the spirit easily enough. Like Garrus had said, everyone looks for a reason to party. If the commander said the holidays came in August, then they were more than willing to celebrate the holidays. The meal was a hit, and the booze as well. Kaidan had disabled the comms in the cockpit to spare everyone the torture of Joker’s singing, but otherwise all was well. Even Dr. Chakwas had made an appearance, miserly portioning shots of her brandy as the evening progressed.

Shepard checked the hour for what seemed like the hundredth time. She knew Liara had a tendency to lose track of herself when she was particularly engaged in something, so Shepard had initially chosen to wait for Liara to make an appearance. As the party entered its third hour however, the commander decided that direct intervention might be required.

She excused herself from the table where several crewmen were discussing how many geth she’d kill this time out. ‘ _Probably not many,’_ she thought as rose. So far they hadn’t seen one. She made her way through the empty medbay, and signaled for entry into Liara’s cabin.

When Liara didn’t answer, she signaled again, finally overriding her way through the door.

The room she entered was dark, and just as quiet as the medbay she’d left behind. She waited a moment for her eyes to adjust, taking in the room that while still used for storage, was also closer to a cabin than it had been since the Normandy’s refit at Arcturus.

Liara was sitting at her desk, with her face in her hands. Sarah moved quietly to join her, softly asking “Are you all right?” As she both placed her hands on the asari’s shoulders and kissed the top of her crest. “I thought I’d better check on you when you when you didn’t come out.”

“I am fine, Shepard.” Liara’s shaky tone belied her words.

“Uh huh.” Shepard lifted her from her desk, and steered her to her bunk where she sat down beside her. “What’s wrong?”

“It has been many years since I have celebrated Janiris. Even more since I celebrated it at home.”

“Oh god, Liara. I had no idea. You didn’t need to come with me to Arcturus. You could have joined the Normandy after the holidays…” Shepard tried to find a way to comfort the asari. “There’s still almost two weeks left to Janiris. You can head back to the estate, and join us afterwards.”

Liara’s head hung low. “I did not mean it like that, Shepard. It has been so long since I had spent the holiday with my mother.” She looked up now, turning to Sarah, “But I always could have. Nothing actually prevented me, except my own anger, my stubbornness, my insistence that she acknowledge that I was right.”

 _‘Oh crap,’_ Sarah knew exactly where this was going. She’d been there herself. Many times.

“She will not be there now, Shepard.” Liara’s voice was almost a shout. “I will never spend another Janiris with my mother. Nor a life celebration, nor a siari festival, or go sailing. Everything I have ever done with my mother, I have done for the last time. I cannot even describe how that feels.” Now her voice dropped to a whisper. “I am ashamed that I did not feel it before now.”

Sarah did the only thing she could, she pulled Liara close to her and held her tight.

Liara tried to pull way. “No, Shepard. You should go to the party. I will join you when I feel better.”

Shepard just held her more tightly. “I’m not going anywhere.”


End file.
